Joke's on Me | George Weasley | Book 1

chapter 7 - Casual attire

Natalia was true to her word, and after getting along fine in the first lesson (even if Hermione Granger did keep watching her as if she expected her to do something wrong) she did keep going back.
The only downside was she couldn't quite master the transfiguration spell, so one of the twins had to do it for her each time.

She'd not made up with Draco yet, even though he'd made several attempts to make contact with her. Unless he downright apologised to her, she didn't want anything to do with him.
Well, that was a lie, but Nat was too stubborn for her own good, even if they did have Prefect rounds together. And she often skipped out on those if she was honest.

She didn't talk to the twins - well, George - as much as she'd have liked. She blamed the OWLs, but in reality, she was scared of her own feelings and dwindling self-control when it came to him.
She really needed advice, and Natalia cursed herself for being so stubborn - and not just with Malfoy, but her father as well.
And then she'd get angry as her mother, then sad, and then she'd get so overwhelmed and spend the night staring across the Black Lake from the banks, regardless of whether it was raining.

George never joined her anymore.

She missed him. But if he ever asked, she missed his heating charm.
Which was right at that particular moment. Her sat on the bank of the Black Lake, that is, missing George Weasley.

She skipped a stone, watching as it sunk below the surface.

Natalia couldn't help herself; she started thinking about how she wished she could talk to her dad. Which only led to her being angry at her mother for an innumerable amount of reasons.
She launched a stone into the Lake, falling back with her hands covering her face. Nat felt like she wanted to scream until her voice died.

"Well, that was dramatic."

Nat opened her eyes, moving her hands. George. She sat up as quickly as she'd fallen, watching him. "You don't come here anymore."

"You come here every night."

"How-"

"Just because you don't see me," he charmed the ground as usual before sitting beside her, "doesn't mean I'm not here. You just seemed like you needed to be alone."

Natalia looked away. He cast a heating spell, and she turned towards him instinctively.

"Sorry." He looked a little sheepish. "Habit."

"It's ok. Why are you here tonight? If you think I want to be alone."

George raised an eyebrow. "Was I wrong?" Nat shrugged her shoulders, and answer he seemed content with for now. "Because... well, for starters, you were particularly violent in your stunning spell today. Ow, by the way. You seem angry, maybe you need advice or just to yell about it for a bit."

Natalia took a deep breath, clutching her wand. "I'm sorry about the stunning spell. But you're right, I'm pissed at my mother, need advice, but I can't go to Draco cause he's still being a prat-"

George snorted.

"-And I've had to cut contact with my dad. So I have no one really to turn to because... you're a Weasley."

"You know, Natalia, as in-love with myself as I am, I can be impartial. And I'll never lie to you."

It was Nat's turn to snort.

He grinned. "So I've bent the truth a little in the past. That was different. That was before... Well, all this. Whatever this is."

"It's... Schrodinger's cat." Natalia laughed bitterly. George looked confused so she moved on. "I don't want to step too close to you in fear of getting burned by a fire that may or may not be there. The only way to know if it exists is to step to close, but..." Natalia trailed off, not being able to bring herself to say it.

"So... where's the cat?" George frowned, trying ti figure it out.

She laughed in surprise.

"Was-was that a genuine laugh from Natalia White? Haven't heard that in a while."

"Shut up," She grumbled, but she couldn't fight the smile. "And forget about the undead cat."

"Why's the cat dead?" George asked, making Nat sigh in defeat.

"You're supposed to be giving me advice."

George shrugged, "if I fix your 'me' problem will you tell me about Shoddy's dead cat?"

Natalia nodded, and before she could register anything else, George's lips her on hers. Only for a moment, but the taste of toffee lingered, as did the feeling.

He left his hand on her cheek for a second, and watched as Nat's eyes flickered open. "Does that fix your 'me' problem?"

"No jokes."

"No jokes."

"Completely serious?"

He laughed, "do you want me to take the Vow that I'm telling the truth?"

Natalia blinked. "Schrodinger's cat is the psychological theory that if you have a cat in a box you can assume that the cat is both dead and alive because you can't see the cat or have any interaction with it." She barely breathed before carrying on, "as long as the box remains unopened and untouched the cat is simultaneously dead and alive, and by opening the box you are sealing its fate."

"So in your weird- I don't get it." He managed to interrupt himself. "If you don't feed that cat for lie two months it has to be dead, that's a more logical assumption." George looked completely lost, making Natalia giggle.

"I'll get you a whole book on it for Christmas if you shut up about the cat."

"Tempting, but I'd rather you explain it to me than a book."

Natalia rolled her eyes at his comically suggestive face. "You had a question."

"I did. So in your weird dead cat world, I just opened the box?"
Natalia nodded.
"And... was there any fire?"

She blinked, smiling slowly. "No."

George grinned, content.

Almost apologetically, she bumped his arm with her shoulder. "It still can't be public."

He smiled softly. "I know. I don't need it to be public, though I do hope one of these days you'll tell me why. I just need to know where we stand."

She thought for a moment. "You'll know when it becomes too big for me to hide anymore. And I'd like to date you."

George grinned wickedly. "I'd like to date me too!"

Natalia scoffed, laughing a little at his declaration.

"I mean, I'd hope you'd like to date me after that whole fiasco with the dead cat."

"Stop going on about the cat!" She hit his arm lightly with each word, making him laugh and fall over into the grass he hadn't charmed dry.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that one Natalia!" He grinned, putting a tickling charm on her, laughing as he watched her squirm for a bit.

Natalia gasped for air, sitting up again. "That was mean Georgie."

He grinned, "I'll pick you up at six, seventh floor corridor. Casual attire."